The Bride's Decision
by WutheringHats
Summary: The bride. The wedding. The flashbacks. The decision. Read if you want to know the rest. Yes, I know I'm being rather cryptic...but I promise it has a happy ending.


**Alright, so this is the deal: The story was inspired by the ending of the Sabrina the Teenage Witch series (if any of you saw it, then you know what I'm talking about). It's nothing special, and it's probably badly paced and corny, but hey, I've recently rediscovered my love for this fandom and felt a need to contribute to it once more. So if it sucks, I really don't care. I did what I had to do.  
**

**Disclaimer: As usual, I own nothing of LWD or its characters. The only thing I do own is this badly written story. **

* * *

3 hours till the wedding.

The bride paced frantically back and forth in her bedroom, wringing her cold and clammy hands and gazing down at no particular point on the scuffed wooden floor.

"_Just tell me, while looking me straight in the eyes that you have no feelings and I will walk out of your life forever."_

She squeezed her hand and tried to snap the memory out of her mind, with no success.

"_We've hated each other all these years. Why now?"_

Her eyes darted to the clock on her dresser. Time was moving much too slow. The anxiety was intolerable.

"_I'm done denying. I've been an idiot for seven long years. But now, knowing that you're about to take this huge step, and possibly disappear from my life forever…no…I…I just can't sit here and watch you walk away. I won't."_

A knock on the door jolted her abruptly away from her thoughts. The make-up person and hairdresser had arrived.

* * *

1.5 hours till the wedding.

He had exited the quickie food stop and was making his way toward his motorcycle. He didn't bother looking down at his watch. Time, since two weeks ago, was a curse to him.

"_This is insane! You, you're my brother!"_

_"Step-brother!" he quickly corrected. "We're not bind by blood." _

_"But-"_

_"And we weren't even raised together. I don't see you as a sister any more than you see me as a brother! We never have! You know that!"_

_"You're sick. You've always been sick!"  
_

He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again, as if doing so would blink away the flashback.

He picked up his helmet and adjusted it on. As he straddled the bike and prepared to rev the engine, he spotted something on the ground that slammed him back to the recent past.

"_Here, have this. I know it's stupid and pointless now, but I found it on the sidewalk and…just have it. I know they're your favorites. You can pin it to your hair on the day that you---well, you know."_

_She gasped but didn't take the white flower._

"_What? You don't like lilies anymore?"_

He gripped down hard on the handles of the bike. He knew where he had to go. He had a destination.

He would make it there. But before he did, he needed to make one last pit stop.

* * *

Half an hour till the wedding.

The chapel was on the other side of town. The bride was already on her way over, riding in the limo.

A light, melodic tune emanated from the built-in speakers nearby. Beautiful scenery whizzed by outside. She didn't notice any of it.

"_So this is your decision? You're definitely going through with it? You're leaving me behind?"_

"_Please, just leave."_

"_Fine. I will. But first you need to answer my question."_

A soft moan escaped her lips as she rehashed the scene over and over again in her mind. She glanced over at the built-in clock on one side of the limo. In a little more than half an hour, her life would change forever.

"_What question?"_

"_Do you love me or not?" The intensity of his gaze was unbearable. He stepped closer. She stepped back_.

"Ok, just stop!" she yelped.

The well-dressed gentleman sitting on the other side snapped his head toward her and frowned.

"Honey? What's the matter?"

"Oh, umm...n-nothing, dad. Just, um...thinking about something bad that happened a few days ago...with umm...with my auto repair guy. I guess the nervousness brings forth all the negative stuff that's happened recently. So I'm...I'm just trying to mentally put the brakes. Don't wanna put a damper on anything, especially on this special day." She smiled, hoping her dad bought the story and would resist further questioning.

Luckily, her father, not being a man of many words to begin with, simply nodded and turned his head the other way.

She blew out a long-suffering breath. _Ok,__ it's time for a self pep-talk, _she told herself_. Enough with the past. What's important is this moment. This very day. This is the day you've been waiting for for 5 months. There's no turning back after this. You're ready._ She smiled. Her reflection on the window halfheartedly smiled back.

* * *

15 minutes till the wedding.

The warm summer air whipped around his face as he raced down the highway on his motorcycle.

He knew he was crazy for what he was about to do. His mind had made every effort to chastise and berate him for his decision. He didn't care.

He wasn't going to cause a disruption. He just needed to be there one last time, to wait outside…to see her walk out of his life forever.

* * *

The wedding.

"We are gathered here today, on this happy and joyous occasion, to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony," the preacher began.

The chapel was full with family members and friends. The bride and groom stood side by side. It was a moment awaited by all for months.

The preacher spoke the standard matrimony speech, touching on the importance of love and commitment in marriage. The groom stole a glance at his would-be bride. The bride kept her attention focused on the preacher.

Finally, the preacher came to the commitment vows.

"Casey? Do you have something to say?"

"Yea. Errm...ok." She turned toward her groom and reached her hands out to meet his.

"I, Casey McDonald, take--"

There was a loud cough in the background. This threw her off. She turned her head to look at the pews and got a mouthed sorry from her stepbrother, Edwin. She looked at him for a moment and snapped her head back to attention.

"Sorry about that. Ummm...where was I? Oh right. I, Casey McDonald, take you, Caleb Brown, to be my partner in life. My one true..."

She looked down. "My one true..."

Another long pause.

_ Just say it, Casey!_ she implored herself. _What are you waiting for?_ As if in answer to her question, an image instantly conjured itself up in her mind.

_He was standing in front of her, his shaggy brown hair falling over his forehead and his brown eyes piercing hers with a hungry, pleading look. He wore his signature leather jacket and held a familiar white flower in his hands._

"_Casey, listen...all these years I've been fighting it off, but I can no longer do it. I can no longer deny the fact that I love you, that I love everything about you. I know it's crazy. I know that I'm supposed to see you as a sister at this point. But I can't. I can't because the truth is I've wanted you as more than that since the first time I saw you. And right now, I'm standing in front of you, demanding to know if you love me in return. It's just a simple answer. If you say no, I promise I will walk out of here and let you marry that other guy. If you say yes, then I'll continue standing here until I convince you what a mistake you're making. Either way, I can't live in peace until I have a direct answer from you."_

In a moment of panic, she had given him her answer.

_"No. No, I don't love you, Derek. I never have. So please leave me alone." _

Those words had haunted her ever since. _  
_

The preacher cleared his throat. Whispering had broken out in the pews in back of her. She jolted out of her reverie and looked around. She had stalled. Everyone knew what it meant when the bride or groom stalled in their vows.

_Oh God_. Heat was searing her face, her hands started trembling.

The groom took the initiative. "Hold on a moment, a please," he addressed the preacher.

He turned toward her, his gaze intense but tender. "Is something wrong, Casey?" he said calmly.

She couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze.

"Come, let's move aside for a moment." He took her hand and walked her a few yards away from the center, which caused the whispering in the pews to get more intense.

"Talk to me." He placed two large, gentle hands on each side of her shoulders.

"I-I just…I-" she cut herself off. It was impossible to put into words the tempest of emotions that were raging on inside.

Ten long, tormenting seconds elapsed before either of them spoke. "You're not going through with this, are you?" he finally said.

Her head shot up and as soon as she met his gaze, tears welled up in her eyes. "Oh, Caleb, I-I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"What is it?" His tone continued soft and calm.

"It's just," she sniffed. God, this was hard.

He waited patiently for her to continue.

Another seven seconds elapsed. Finally, she spoke up, "Caleb, I love you, I really do. It's just—"

"I'm not the one," he finished for her.

She shot her gaze down again. When she looked up once more, she expected to see fury in his eyes. Instead, she saw a sort of tender defeat. A quiet resignation.

By this point, tears were streaming down her face.

"Don't cry," he softly commanded. "Look, Casey, I'm not stupid. I know that what's been happening with you for the past two weeks has been more than just normal cold feet. I've seen the look in your eyes. I know."

The words cut her inside like a scalpel. Still, they stirred within her a realization that she'd been repressing for those two weeks' length of time, maybe even longer.

He was right. As much as it pained her to admit it, he was right.

She sucked in a deep, shaky breath. "So…what happens now?"

"Well, the only thing we can do. Call this whole thing off. Better you realize it now than later when it's too late."

She bit her bottom lip.

Without waiting for her to respond, he cleared his throat, walked back to the center, and addressed the attendees.

"Excuse me everybody. It seems we've had a change of plans." The whispering that had been going on instantly transformed into louder stirring and talking.

"We are in fact _not_ going to go through with this wedding. After talking it over, we've decided it's not in our best interests. I apologize for the inconvenience. You are still welcome to come to the reception and bank out on all the food, since it's all paid for already." He smiled painfully.

Ignoring the loud inquiries, he turned back to his lost bride, addressed her with a simple but deliberate glance and nodded his head.

It was all the encouragement she needed. Picking up her gown, she began her brisk walk down the aisle. Halfway down, she broke out into a run. She ran past the loud stirring and the calls of her name. She ran until she reached the doors and pushed them firmly outward.

The sun welcomed her as soon as she stepped out. She walked over to the top step of the chapel. Her veil had gotten tangled around her and she stopped to adjust it. She then bent down and coiled up her gown in order to check a running in her stockings. Once she straightened up and gathered her bearings, she looked out ahead. And gasped.

Less than a hundred yards away from her stood a familiar motorcycle. And leaning against it stood the person that had been the subject of her thoughts for what had seemed like endless hours and days. He hadn't noticed her yet, he was examining a white flower in his hand. When he looked up his eyes widened.

"Casey?"

"Derek? Wha-what are you doing here?"

He looked back down and fidgeted with the flower. "I-I just came to wish you a final goodbye I guess. I know I was a jerk for not coming to your wedding. And I—just…well…" he trailed off. "Wait a minute, what are you doing out here anyway?"

"I-I-umm...I didn't go through with it. The wedding."

"Why?"

She hesitated before responding. Her eyes shot down and her face became momentarily pensive. When she spoke again, she broke out into a brilliant smile.

"Cause, I realized I wasn't marrying the right guy."

Derek dropped both arms against his sides, letting the lily fall to the ground. His heart was pounding. "And...who is the right guy?"

Casey's smile widened. "He's standing right across from me." And without waiting a second further, Casey gathered up her gown and ran. She ran into his open arms. When she reached him, their lips met instantly. It was a warm, passionate, spark-igniting kiss that was years overdue.

"I'm sorry for lying to you," she breathed once they broke away from their kiss.

"And I'm sorry for making you wait all these years," he responded.

They smiled and resumed kissing.

By this point, the doors to the chapel had opened and the attendees were milling out. All of them froze in their tracks as they beheld the scene across from them.

It should have been shocking. It should have been scandalous. The former bride...kissing her stepbrother. Instead, the family of the step siblings broke out into smiles themselves.

"It's about time," the mother said.

"About time," the father whispered.

"About damn time," the siblings said in unison.

Casey and Derek hopped onto the motorcycle and waved to the crowd. He picked up the lily from the ground and she wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned forward. "Let's go, tiger," she whispered into his ear. And without a second look back, they set out into the open road, not knowing what the future held but confidant that they could withstand anything so long as they held on to each other.

The End.

* * *

** Ok, so I know the family's reaction to Dasey was unrealistic, but hey, I wanted to give the story in the end a sort of epic feel. So yea. Hope you enjoyed reading. Feel free to review...just don't be_ too_ harsh. =)**


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